THE Bronx river is not a New York hood where you鈥檇 expect to find a celebrity. But Jos茅 is no ordinary media animal. He鈥檚 a beaver 鈥� the first to live in the Big Apple for 200 years 鈥� and now you can text him to find out how he鈥檚 doing.
The engineers and designers of the Environmental Health Clinic at New York University have deployed buoys in the Bronx and East rivers that show the public what the city鈥檚 submerged wildlife is up to. The buoys are equipped with sonar that detects moving animals, and sensors that provide information on water quality, such as the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water. Distinct sonar signatures reflected from different fish and mammals allow species to be identified and the information texted to anyone with a US phone (text 鈥淓astRiver鈥� or 鈥淏ronxRiver鈥� to 41411).
New 杏吧原创 texted Jos茅 and he told us: 鈥淛ust swung by the art centre. Water feels good. The dissolved oxygen must be pretty high today.鈥�
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